Change of Mind
by fringeperson
Summary: If Haru had asked for something when Lune wanted to thank her, things might have gone this way...? I don't own ANY of these characters, wish I did.
1. Thank You

**Chapter 1; Thank You**

"I have already chosen my bride, I have decided, in fact, to marry Yuki," said the prince, indicating the white cat who was sitting beside Haru, the females finding comfort in each other. They both gasped in surprise at Lune's announcement.

"So these crackers mean that… _you_ can marry the prince instead of _me!_ I'm so happy for you!" Haru said, nearly crying with joy as she embraced Yuki, her first cat friend.

"How can we ever repay you?"

"Keep your father away from me," Haru said, not even thinking about it. She heard Muta laugh at that. Shaking her head at her flat statement, the school-girl/cat smiled. "You don't have to thank me, I'm just glad that everything turned out so well."

Lune smiled at Haru's frank request, and grinned when she said she didn't need to be thanked.

"You know, the exit to your world is still there, you can still get home," the prince said, looking up casually.

Haru looked up too, and considered her options. The sky was beginning to change colour, the sun about to rise. If she wanted her own life back she would have to move fast.

If? What kind of a thought was that? Of course she wanted her own life back, her quiet, predictable life… except that she had so many new friends here. There was Yuki and Lune, Muta, and the Baron…

"Actually, now that I don't have to get married, I'm not so worried about it," she admitted, still watching the sky beyond the exit. "Mum probably will though."

Looking back at her friends, she slipped a crooked smile on her kittenish feline face. "All those in favour of me going home?" she asked.


	2. Goodbye

**Chapter 2; Goodbye**

"It's where you belong, Miss Haru," Yuki said, surprised that the girl would even think about staying.

Lune shrugged and nodded in a way that meant, essentially: "She's right, but it's up to you."

"You're not putting us through all this trouble just to change your mind now, Chicky," Muta said when she turned questioning eyes to the fat cat who had watched out for her through the whole thing.

"I guess that's that then," she said, standing up and brushing the dust off her uniform skirt. Haru didn't even look at the Baron as she headed for the stairs, she couldn't. If she did, she was certain that she would do something irrational. The feeling had been building inside her from the moment she saw that it was _he_ who had guided her so tenderly through the waltz, it had grown stronger as they worked through the maze, and then he had carried her up the stairs of the tower. There was only so much a tender schoolgirl could take.

He couldn't bare it. He had no idea what to say. Muta was right: they had gone through a lot to be able to get her home again, return her to her normal life, save her from an unwanted marriage. At the same time though, he had enjoyed the feel of her as he led her in the dance, as he had held her close when they dodged guards and ran the maze, when he carried her up the tower.

If she only walked up the stairs to the exit, she wouldn't make it in time. That was something he was certain about, and she had just said that home was where she was going. He watched her as she took a couple of steps up, and he made one last decision of his own: he wanted to hold her one more time.

The Baron moved quickly, scooping her up in his arms as he bounded up the stairs faster than any person or cat would normally be able to. She made no objections as she had the first time; he even felt her rest against his chest. He almost blushed to feel his heart pound so loudly.

She hadn't expected it, but she had realised the first time that she was quite comfortable in his arms, that there was no point in protesting and no reason to worry. Haru snuggled a little and breathed deeply the smell of him: pine, tea, and a slightly mustiness that was probably a combination of fur and dust. He smelt wonderful.

They were nearly there, Haru felt her paws turn back into hands and feet, and her teeth ached as they turned back into human teeth. She felt the Baron put her down on a step. He was still taller than her, but the stair he had put her down on brought her up to look him in the eye.


	3. Falling

**Chapter 3; Falling**

She shouldn't have looked at him. His wonderful emerald eyes, with traces of gold and aquamarine; it was like his eyes had some strange power over her. Much like she had done in the grand hall, when the Baron announced himself to the King, she threw her arms around his neck, but this time she didn't cry his name – she kissed him instead.

One arm snaked around her waist. His other hand took hold of her shoulder. He pulled her to him and held tightly. He didn't realise that he was climbing the steps towards her. He didn't realise he was holding her up, that she wasn't even moving her feet as he took them both slowly closer to the exit.

He hadn't realised that they were standing on the rim of the exit until the wind whipped his top hat off his head. In surprise, he broke the kiss, looking around him.

Haru looked too, she almost screamed, but she was in the Baron's arms, and she couldn't feel truly terrified when he was holding her. The sun was just leaving the horizon, golden and burning in the orange and pink sky of dawn. She looked at her hands: covered in fur, with claws instead of nails, but hands all the same, complete with opposable thumbs. Checking behind her, she saw that there was still a tail, and she felt her cat ear crumple slightly as she leant against the Baron once more, a sigh escaping her.

"When I was made, two people never kissed until they were engaged," the Baron said. He held her close and stroked her hair, a question hidden in his innocent observation of how times had changed.

"These days, people sleep together without so much as a thought towards the intention of getting married," Haru informed him, disgust at the practice barely masked in her voice. She loosed her tight grip upon the Baron and peered down, trying to guess how far they would fall if they slipped, which led her to wonder if she was still cat enough to land on her feet and survive the fall.

She over-balanced and realised that she was about to find out. The Baron grabbed her arm, but she was too far over, and he fell with her.


	4. Landing

**Chapter 4; Landing**

They spiralled down together. Through the air they spun, holding tightly to each other and going down heads first.

"I realise this may not be the best time," Haru said, yelling to be heard above the wind that whipped her words away. "But I don't want to die without telling you."

"We're not going to die," the Baron yelled back, pulling her closer to him. He hadn't heard her last three words.

"That's right!" interjected a large black bird as he caught the falling couple on his back. "Not as long as I'm around to catch you," he added.

"Perfect timing, Toto," said the Baron, no longer having to yell over rushing wind as Toto slowly descended.

Safe and in his arms, Haru wondered if she would still be able to tell him. Not while they were on Toto's back, that was certain. Something else occurred to her though; "What about Muta?" she asked.

"The brown cat that took you away showed up at the refuge with Muta a few minutes ago, that's how I knew to come and get you," Toto answered. Beating his wings a couple of times to avoid some buildings the crow statue sailed gently down into the courtyard of the Bureau. "Something to do with cat magic. He didn't have to use the official exit because he wasn't trying to turn back into a human."

"Oh," there wasn't much she could say to that. It was good to know that the dear fat cat was safe.

The Baron lighted on the cobbles and turned to help Haru down from the gargoyle's back, reaching up to catch her about the waist so that he could take some of her weight as she jumped down for herself.

Flattered by the Baron's gentlemanly manners, Haru hid a blush and giggle behind one of her furred hands and allowed herself to be helped down.

"Chicky!" Muta exclaimed, coming out of the Bureau. "You didn't make it," he said, stopping just short of the returned half-felines.

"I made it out alive, thanks to Toto and the Baron," Haru said, unashamedly giving the gargantuan cat a hug. She was still cat sized, something she hadn't bothered to notice before. She didn't mind, she was just glad to think he had worried about her.

"So chicken-legs was actually good for something," Muta said, pretending that he wasn't blushing by being brash.

Toto chose to ignore Muta and merely gloated over the knowledge that he would be able to hold that blush over the fat cat for a long time. A sneaky smile was on his beak as he flew back to the top of his pillar and turned to stone once more.

Baron felt oddly alone, seeing Haru hug Muta, and Toto wasn't any help, as he just went to sleep. Actually, that was a good idea – the whole company had been awake all night, and Haru had gone through a long and stressful day before being awake all night.

A hand on his shoulder jolted him out of his thoughts, and he looked down at it in surprise.

"Is something the matter Baron?" Haru asked quietly.

"You can't go home, and there's nothing in the Bureau really suited to accommodate a lady," he said, covering her furred hand with his gloved one.

"I'm no lady," Haru laughed. "The couch will make just as fine a bed for me as any, if you don't mind me staying with you that is," she added.

"I would still feel better if I had a real bed to offer you, but I suppose we can work something out after we've all had some sleep," he admitted. Taking her hand in his, they walked back to the Bureau.

"You're forgetting Baron," Muta said, his paws behind his head as he followed them. "You _have_ a bed – yours. You'd remember that yourself if you'd just _use_ it now and then."


	5. Good Night

**Chapter 5; Goodnight**

Haru had stopped dead beside the couch and turned to stare at Muta, her mouth hanging open. "Oh no, I think I'd rather have the couch," she tried to say, except the words got stuck in her throat. "Ah – ah – ah" was what came out in a slightly choked and definitely shocked way.

"Of course, Muta you're a genius," the Baron exclaimed.

"No Baron, I couldn't! It's _your_ bed!" Haru was able to finally get the words out, and she was privately ashamed of how desperately frightened she felt over such a simple thing.

"There's no need to worry, Miss Haru, truly."

"Yeah, he sleeps standing on the coffee table most of the time," Muta quipped, pointing to the table by the window where Haru had first seen the Baron.

"That's not the point that I'm trying to make," Haru whispered, shivering against something other than the cold. "I would _rather_ sleep on the couch," the words finally came out, and there was a chased look in her eyes.

Muta didn't see it, but was willing enough to concede to her preference. Baron did see it. Looking carefully at the scared little kitten before him, he thought he understood. Taking her firmly by the shoulders, he pushed her gently through the house until they reached the bedroom; his bedroom. His extremely disused bedroom, which had dust covers over almost everything.

"Muta is right, I don't use the bed," his words were soft, even in her cat ears. "And you will sleep better on a mattress," he continued. His nearness, his gently firm touch, and his warm breath were making her shiver again, all the way down her spine, to the tip of her tail. "Let me tuck you in, and then I will go and sleep on the couch."

Haru was certain that she couldn't move. She had no idea how she had gone from standing in the door to lying on the feather bed beneath a downy quilt. He was just pulling the doona up to her chest when she realised what was happening. She saw a smile on his face, a smile she had only seen the like of once before – her father had been tucking her mother into bed when she was sick, and he had called her silly for stressing about work so much that she got a fever.

"I'm a bother, aren't I?" she asked as he turned towards the door.

"No," he said, sitting down on the edge of the bed, his emerald eyes shining as he looked at her, almost immersed in pillows.


	6. Good Morning

**Chapter 6; Good Morning**

He was surprised, when he opened his eyes, to find that he had fallen asleep on the bed beside Miss Haru. Looking about him, the figurine saw that he was on top of the sheets, while Miss Haru was beneath them, and they were holding hands.

He closed his eyes again and wondered if he should or should not hope that he was dreaming.

Haru woke up and was initially shocked to find the Baron lying on the pillow next to her. As she surfaced from sleep, she had supposed that her adventures in the Cat Kingdom must have been a peculiar dream. She was glad that it wasn't, even if it _did_ mean that her life would never be the same again.

Sitting herself up on one elbow, she wondered what she should do. At last, she thought she had an idea of what might be sensible.

"Hello," she said softly, leaning closer to his ear because she didn't want to break the moment by speaking at a regular volume. She might have said good morning, but she wasn't certain that it actually _was_ morning.

His ear flicked and he opened his spellbinding eyes again, raising his head just a little to look at her without the pillow in the way.

"Hello," he answered. "Did you sleep well?"

"Better than a couch," she conceded, a lop-sided smile curling on her face, then it vanished. "Um," she looked away, biting her lip. She knew nothing had happened, they had slept, and they had been lying next to each other, but they hadn't _slept together_. Somehow that didn't matter; they had slept together, even if they hadn't… _slept_ together. She still couldn't tell him.

"Haru," she heard him say. She felt his cool gloved hand caress her jaw-line, making her look at him. "Haru, whatever it is, you can tell me."

"Over some tea?" she asked. She was still trying to figure out how the conversation would go as she followed him into the living room. She was glad that Muta wasn't there, and that Toto still seemed to be sleeping on his pillar.

"Before you begin, Haru, may I tell you something?" the Baron asked as he poured the tea.

"Of course," she said, moving to take a seat.

"I think I'm falling in love with you."

It hit her like a bombshell. She could hardly take it in. It was a small mercy that she hadn't been handed her tea yet: she would have dropped it. She fell onto the couch as things were.

"Oh good, because I _know_ I'm in love with you," she said at last, staring into his eyes, his wonderful eyes, losing herself for all that she was worth. "Ow!" It felt as though something had bitten her on the tail, snapping her awake. Standing up and turning to look, she saw that a spiky-looking ring of light was working its way along her tail and up her body, then with a last flash it completely covered her, and disappeared. Her fur stood on end for a moment.


	7. Promise

**Chapter 7; Promise**

"What just happened?" Haru asked, feeling all over her body to make sure everything was still there. Not that she would have minded finding no tail or cat ears or whiskers or fur, but she was just as glad to find that she was still whole.

"What is it with you and your cheesy light show, Baron?" Muta asked, letting himself in to the Bureau. "If you aren't flooding the refuge you're lighting your house up like a solar flare." The fat cat wasn't angry, just being grumpy because the lights had woken him up.

"I couldn't help it Muta," answered the Baron curtly, moving to take Haru's hands in his. "And I'm very sorry that it hurt, I didn't mean it to," he added quietly, looking earnestly in her eyes.

"I feel like something has changed, but I don't know what it is and I feel like I should know… What did you do, Baron?" Haru asked, wondering at this new strangeness that had come into her life.

"It wasn't _exactly_ me, Miss Haru," he began, passing her a cup of tea. "In the core of every Creation, there is a small seed of magic, even those creations that never receive a soul have this, and in each Creation that seed of magic manifests differently, with one exception." He paused, knowing that there was nothing to be afraid of – he had already told her how he felt, and she had returned his feelings. Knowing, however, did not still the butterflies in his stomach.

He took a deep breath and held it for a moment, closing his eyes as he tried to phrase what he had to say. When Haru squeezed his hand, he looked at her again and the words found themselves for him.

"If a creation finds someone that they love, and who loves them, that seed of magic will change one or other of them so that they can be together, without any conscious thought or effort from the Creation."

"So what, we're married now?" Haru asked, trying to cover her shock with jocularity.

"No, but we can be. I'm not going to push you into another marriage just after you escaped one," the Baron said, finding his own refuge in the colour of tea, until he realised that his tea was much the same colour as Haru's eyes.

"Hmm," Haru took her hand back from the Baron and sipped her tea, thinking about what he had said. _So now, I'm a wooden doll too?_

"I think I'm still too young to be anybody's wife," she said at last. "I don't see why we can't go on as we started though, and figure things out from there."

"So you'll be stickin' around then, kid?" Muta asked, a whisk covered in whipped cream in his paw.

"I'll get you male-types house-broken yet," she said, laughter in her voice. Of all of them, she was probably the last one who should be saying that, though Muta didn't get the joke. Seeing that he was about to cry out at the indignity, Haru quickly waved her hand and said that she was only making fun and didn't really mean it.

_When you're ready to ask me, Baron, I'll answer you,_ Haru thought to herself, wearing a secret smile that was all her own. _I'm yours._


End file.
